5* This exact
locality
is not easily ascertainable at the present
text, pp.
text, pp.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
570.
See " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol.
ii.
, chap.
xii.
.
sect.
i. , and n. 5. , pp. 183 to 185.
^ In Dr. O' Donovan's translation of the
"
ancient historical tale of the
Without refusal, without a particle of Dun na n gedh and the Battle of Magh churlishness. " Rath. " The entire difficulty could be got
Erin,
Banquet of
'7 See Challoner's "Britannia and the word co— Bishopbyinsertingtnharba
*'. <? . ,
Sancta," part ii. , pp. 128, 129. representative or successor before the
18
over
for — by substituting bishops Apostles,
According to Sir James Ware, in his names of these Saints. The probability,
Lists of the Bishops of Clogher, taken from the Register of that See.
19 However, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan denies Ware's statement, concerning St. Molaise having been a Bishop over Clogher. He says, that even supposing Laisrean had been bishop there, it cannot be believed, that nine prelates of that see lived between Tigernach, who died a. d. 549, and the pretended
however, is that the anachronism —is an
original blunder of the writer himself. "
pp. 27, 28, n.
2I "
See
See Ussher's Britannicarum Ecclesi- arum Antiquitates, cap. xvii. , p. 474.
22
It is classed E. 4. 2.
23 See vol. v. , p. 224.
24 In Dreves' *' Analecta," vol. xix. , p.
222.
coming
3o8
LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
Society, LL. l). 2?
J.
Bernard, D. D,
Atkinson,
2* under the of editorship
26 and R.
H.
This Hymn28 is probably derived from an Office for the Feast of
St. Molaise, of which a fragment is extant as a marginal note in the 2
Martyrology of Donegal, at the 12th of September. 9
After a life usefully and religiously spent, St. Molaisse was called away to
receive the crown of his labours and virtues, on the 12th day of September. He was buried, in the cemetery, on the Island of Devenish. His stone coffin30 is said to have been found, embedded in the earth, near one of the ruins. The lid, which had been long taken for the shaft of an antique cross, layattheeasternsideofwhatiscalledtheLowerChurch. Tothenorthof the oratory, within a small quadrangular enclosure, which appears to have been the aherla, or Saint's burial-place, was to be seen that very rude stone coffin, now broken into pieces. 3 1 The material is sandstone, and the bottom seems to hav—e been
of three —stones. 32 The lid has been composed separate
33
style, a very correct idea might be formed regarding the date of the
sarcophagus.
The festival of St. Molaisse is kept on the day of his death. For a long
time, it had been religiously observed by those, who dwelt in the vicinity of Lough Erne. During the last century, and in the beginning of the present,
"
25 See the Irish Liber Hymnorum," 29 See ibid. , vol. ii , pp. 220, 221.
carried away a fact greatly to be regretted
as by an examination of its
edited from the MSS. , with Translations,
Notes and Glossary, vol. i. , p. 158. London,
1898, 8vo.
26
Fellow of Trinity College, and Arch- bishop King's Lecturer in Divinity in the University of Dublin.
2? Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Dublin.
28 The following is the text :—
Abbas probatus omnino Benedictus a domino
Cum caritatis fructibus Doctor seclesiasticus
Elect us dei anthleta Fidelis sine macula Gregis pastor subagrinus Humilis supplex submissus Jeiunus largissimus
Kastus cum rectis moribus Lucerna erit in tota Macculasrius Hibernia Nadfraich et sanctus filius Optimus dei filius Probatus sapiens peritus Quern coronavit dominus Kequiescit post obitum Securus in perpetuum Tenebrarum rectoiibus Uictis atque principibus Xristo cum suis omnibus Ymnum canit celestibus Zelus in quo fait missus dei prae particibus.
Oratio.
Per meritum Macculasri summi sacerdotis adiuna nos Christe saluator mundi qui regnas.
30 This stone-coffin measured about six
feet, two inches in length, exteriorly, and in-
teriorly, five feet, six inches, by one foot, ten inches.
31 Mr. Wakeman ascertained, that a stone
bearing an extremely rude effigy, and now used as a headstone in the upper cemetery, was popularly believed to have been the lid of this coffin.
32 One end has been hollowed to meet the contour of the head and shoulders of a very small person ; but altogether, the work
presents a particularly mediaeval look. Of those objects drawings have been furnished by Mr. Wakeman, with the article to which jrilusion has been already made.
33 The bed of St. Molaisi was shown as a small square enclosure of walls, but now broken, at the time of our visit to Devenish, in July, 1869. About eighteen or nineteen years previously, a certain Vandal, named Robert Watkin, »broke this tomb—then perfect— as we were told by the guide. A week afterwards, he shot off his own thumb by an accident, but this was attributed to the Saint's displeasure : he got into prison three several times, proved most unfortunate in all his dealings, and in fine, he emigrated to Ameriea. During the wintei of 1865- 66, three English soldiers, stationed at Enniskillen, and belonging to the 93rd
Regiment, visited the Island. While one of these looked on passively, the others broke St. Molaise's tomb, in two distinct places. Soon afterwards, one of the wreckers named Davis, was drowned in the Lake, with two other soldiers. It was not known, if either or both of his companions had shared his watery grave, after that wanton and base act.
September12! LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS.
309
countless numbers repaired to the Island to practise various devotions on St. Molaise's festival day. The local guide pointed out another object of interest, viz. the exact spot on the North side facing down towards the Lough, where St. Molaise's well flowed, although it was then covered up with stones. Stations were formerly carriecl on near it. There is a tradition, that in the oldentimeDevenishwasconnectedwiththemainlandbyacauseway. A portion of this work appears to remain, and upon it there is a very well defined crannogue, or artificial Island. Except in very dry summers, this islet is covered with water. 3* The exact year of St. Molaisse's death has not been determined. However, the Annals of Boyle place it so early as a. d. 35
some
years, we are told, that he went to Heaven, a. d. 563, according to the Annals of Ulster, and again this record assigns it to 570,37 which other writers adopt. Again, the year 571 is thought to be the latest date that can be noted for his departure. 38 Some authorities name the 13th of April, 571, as the day for his departure. 39 In the " Feilire " of ^Engus, at the 12th of September,4° there is an encomiastic notice of Laisren, called the beautiful, of multitudinous Damh-inis. There is a comment, having an Irish verse attributed to him/1 The published Martyrology of Tallagh42 records a festival, at the 12th of September, in honour of Molaissi Daimhinsi, i. e. MacNatifraich. It is also entered in the Book of Leinster copy. *3 In the Irish poetical Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman,4* which has been edited by Whitley Stokes, D. C. L. ,4* and which contains several Biblical, Continental,
544.
By
authors,
it is referred to
563. 3
completing thirty
34 The foregoing description has been 42 Edited by Rev Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiv. written by W. F. Wakeman, for the " Irish 43 Thus molAr'p true ruopnaich T>&m Chronicle," of May 29th, 1869. This mp.
accomplished artist and antiquary enters upon a more minute and complete descrip-
tion of those antique objects in his elegantly written and illustrated Guide Book,
intituled "Lough Erne, Enniskillen, Belleek, Ballyshannon and Bundoran," &c. First Excursion, pp. 39 to 52.
35 " An— dxliv. K. Molasi Daminsi a
Apostles, monastery belonging
to the
quievit. " Annales Buelliani, in Df. "
Canons Regular of St. Augustine at Knock, close to the town of Louth. The place was otherwise called Cnoc na Sengan or Hill of the Pismires. He composed his Martyrology while Roderick O'Conor was King of Ire- land, whileGelasiusorGillamacLiacwas Archbishop of Armagh, and while Aed hua Caillaidhi was bishop of Oriel, i. e. , the
O'Conor's Rerurh Hibernicarum Scrip- tores," vol. ii. , p. 4.
36 See Dr. O' Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol i. , pp. 202, 203.
37 See the Annals of Ulster.
38 See the " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. vii. , p. 363.
39 See Harris' Ware, vol.
**
of
Counties of and Louth, Armagh
i. ,
Bishops
present
Monaghan, as stated in the Preface. Where-
Clogher," p. 178.
40 See " Transactions of the Royal Irish fore, we may conclude from the dates
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , given in our Annals for their several reigns, part i. , on the Calendar of Oengus, by that Marianus must have written between
Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxiii.
a. d. 1 1 66 and 1174. Colgan thinks about
the year 1 167. See " Acta Sanctorum Hi-
bernise," Januarii i. , p. 5.
4srhe " Felire Hui Gormain," or the
Martyrology of Gorman, edited from a Manuscript in the Royal Library, Brussels,
with a Preface, Translation, Notes and Indices. It has been issued, by the Henry
Bradshaw Society for editing rare Liturgical Texts. Published in London, 1895, 8vo.
It contains a Preface, explanatory of the
41 The following English translation is by
:
Dr. Whitley Stokes " Laisren, i. e. ,
Molaise, son of Natfraech of—Dam-inis on
Lough Erne. Molaise sang :
" Well found was the land we found— Abroad lough (was) its mountain-field,
Acommoncemeteryfor Irishmen, God the Father's own d—omain. "
*
Ibid. , p. exlv.
s After
44 All that is really known of Marianus
O'Gorman — commemorated as an Irish
Saint at July 3rd in the Martyrology of
Donegal—
is derived from the Preface to his Martyrology, and from it we learn, that his Irish name was Mael-Maire hua Gormain, Abbot of Cnoc na n-Apstol, or Hill of the
3io LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
Anglo-Saxon, British and Aremorican Saints, besides the Irish Saints,*6 Lasrian
is commemorated with a eulogy for his meekness,*? in that Irish metre, called
the Rindard mor, or Great Rindard. The Martyrology of Marianus
O'Gorman48 professes to enlarge the number of Irish Saints in the Calendars
of Tallaght and of Oengus, and to arrange the festivals of a great number of
them in those days on which the Church celebrates their festivals. The only
copy of this composition known to exist was that transcribed by Brother
Michael 0'0ery,49 about the year 1630, in the Franciscan Convent of
Donegal. s° We find him mentioned, at still greater length, in the Martyrology
1 atthesame as sonof Abbotof date, Molaissi, Nadfraech,
of
Daimhinis. s2
and holiday of Molaissi, in his own parish, and termon, at Bealach Ui Michein.
5* This exact locality is not easily ascertainable at the present
text, pp. vii. to lii. , by the learned editor, Mariani Gormani et Tamlactense et
Donegal,*
On the 15th day53 of this same month is celebrated the festival
and also, pp. 1 to 411.
46 This Martyrology commemorates two
Saints—Gilla mac Liacc at March 27th,
who died in 1 173, and Gilla mo Chaidbeo
at March 31st, who died in 1174; so that
either the statements in the Preface appear
not to be correct, or the commemorations
just mentioned were added after the conclu-
sion of the poem. They may have been
subsequent emendations by the author him-
self. In 1 181, according to the Annals of
the Four Masters, Maelmuire Hua Dunain, Connor and Dromore. Heretofore, the Abbot of Cnoc na Sengan in Louth, died ; present writer was obliged to take his and Colgan supposes him to have been references to Marianus O'Gorman chiefly identical with Marianus O'Gorman, and from the works of Colgan.
Rev. Dr. Lanigan agrees with him in con- 50 The frontispiece engraving to the jecture. See "'Ecclesiastical History of present volume represents the ruins of that,
Ireland," vol. iv. , chap, xxx. , sect, ii. ,
p. 251.
4? With the other Saints noticed at the
12thof — heisthusextolledinthe September,
convent, as they now stand, near the sea-
shore, adjoining the town of Donegal.
s1 EditedbyRev. Drs. ToddandReeves,
pp. 244,245.
52
in the Table, it is said, that at Daimhinis there was a secular priory of Colidei, belonging to the great church, or cat—hedral
—ch of St. Molash so it of the parish chur
" over the word
Note which makes it the 16th day. " by
Dr. Todd.
54 fratrem Michen, "As brother Juxta
Michen says," is appended to the foregoing account . The following note is written here
:
in the more recent hand " Antiphona
communis. Vir Dei dum veil mm vitje
populo prcedicaret, vfsusesta terra paululum sublimari, et in cere pendere, et mirati sunt universi. Adesto nobis qutesumus Domine,
Irish stanza
In a
comment,
at mention of his name,
"
:
Iuentus soer, Sirius, .
mac Natfraich ro fromad,
Lasrian cain cen chinaid,
Mace Lasre, Fled fuillem, do rindnim coa ragam
Ailbe
Imlig
Ibair. "
53 The
It is thus rendered into English —
15th day,
ceui5e<v6, is written as a gloss, feipoTD,
"
:
Noble Juventius, S*irius ; Natfraech's son, who was proven. Gentle, crimeless Lasrian. Mac Lasre, Fled, an increase. To the starry heaven whither we shall go (belongs) Ailbe of Imlech Ibair. " See pp. 174, 175.
48 It is a paper Manuscript in the ut beati Lasreani confessoris tui atque Bibli—otheque Royale, Brussels, marked ibbatis interventu ab omni inquinatione
bound in vellum with a piece of calf-skin stitched on the back, which is inscribed thus : Martyrologia et
mundemur corporis et per
This is evidently taken from some ancient office for St. Molaisse, who is also called, S. Laserian, or Lastianus. The foregoing remarks are found in a note, inserted by Dr. Todd.
5100 4. It
is mentis Christum. "
Carmina hibernica, and on the left cover is the following note in a seventeenth century hand : Continens Martyrologia S. /Engussij
Genealogias Sanctorum et plura alia Opus- cula. It is a thin 4to, almost wholly in the
handwriting of Michael O'Clery, and it con- tains 214 leaves.
49 However, through a loan of the Belgian Government to the Very Rev. Dr. James
Henthorn Todd, of T. C. D. , a transcript by Eugene O'Curry was made from it. After the death of Dr. Todd, that transcript came into the possession of Right Rev. William Reeves, late Protestant Bishop of Down,
was in old times and a vicarage
of the same church. See ibid. , pp. 452, 453.
September LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12. ]
'
time,amongthemoderntownlanddenominationsinIreland. St. Molaisewas Patron Saint to the O'Flannagan family of Tuath-Ratha, or Toora. ss There is a curious account of the tribes of Dartry in the time of Molaisse. 56 In an Irish PoemS7 introduced into the Rife of St. Molaise, the tributes and contri- butions from the Chiefs and people of Toora are set forth and in full, as also # the spiritual and temporal benefits which they in turn were to receive from him. They are told that if they undertake a just battle, and carry the Gospel of Molaise before them as their standard, they shall be victorious. At the time of the suppression of religious houses, 58 the possessions of Devenish are specified in a particular manner. 59 The veneration of this holy Abbot reached the South of Ireland. The old church in the Parish of Kilmolash,60
"
countyofVVaterford,means thechurchofSt. Molash,"thecelebratedSaint
61
The tourist and antiquary more frequently visit the early scene of
Molaissi's holy retirement, in the present age, than the pilgrim, who cannot find the long-displaced Saint's cell or shrine. But, for all persons of true feeling and taste, an indescribable charm is produced in the soul, and awakened in the recollection of all who resort to the island. The scenery is gloriously grand, and yet softly diversified, around the former home of this holy abbot. As we take a tourist's leave of the place, numberless islands seem to float over the wide surface of that placid lake, with its waters spreading out to the blue outline of mountains and swelling slopes on the distant horizon.
Article III. —St. Mac Lasre or Maclaisre, Archbishop and
Abbot of Armagh, County of Armagh. [Sixth and Seventh Centuries. ']
Although bearing the patronymic, which was tlie same name, and having a festival on the same day, the present must be distinguished from the former
1
saint. At the 12th of September, in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, and of
Marianus O'Gorman,2 we find the entry of Mac Lasre's feast. The name may be interpreted the son of Laisre. He was born sometime in the sixth century. The calendarist of the O'Clerys thinks he descends from the race of Eoghan, son to Niall ; or, it is added, that he may belong to the race of Corbmac Cas, son to Oilioll Olum. Already we have noticed the festival of a St. Maclaisre, Abbot of Bangor, at the 16th of May,3 and whose death is recorded in the Annals of Ulster at a. d. 645 4 but he seems to have been
;
of Devenish in Lough Erne.
55 See " of of Waterford, collected the Pro-
Eugene O'Curry's Catalogues MSS. , in the Royal Irish Academy," series i. , vol. i. , p. 208.
during
gress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841,"
p. 133.
Article hi. —* Edited by Rev. Dr.
56 At p. 80 of his Irish Life. R. I. A.
57 Mr. O'Curry thinks this poem had been Kelly, p. xxxiv. Also distinct from the
written about the middle of the fourteenth
moLar-p of Dam Inis in the Book of
Leinster copy is this entry trUcLarpe.
2 See " Sanctorum Hiberniae," Colgan's
x. Januarii. Vita S. Thomiani, nn. 4, 5,
p. 53.
3 See at that date, in the Fifth Volume
of this work, Art. viii.
century.
58 We are
VIII. 's "first
that
attack was levelled at the smaller institu-
tions or those whose yearly income did not exceed two hundred pounds. "—Butler's
"
and Scottish
told,
Henry
Historical Memoirs of the English, Irish
4 " Ma—c Laisre Abbas Bennchair "
Catholics," 4. , p. 205.
vol.
i. , chap, xvii. , ,
Called in Irish C1II molAife.
Such is the statement of John O'Dono- "
Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni- carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 49. Dr. O'Conor remarks in a note (j) that Molassius of Devenish died 563, and Lasrean of Leighlin died
sec.
59 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
quievit. "
cum," pp. 260, 261.
60 61
van in Letters containing Information 638. They are often confounded by late relative to the Antiquities of the County writers ignorant of Irish history.
311
i2 • LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12. 3 [September
a different person from the present saint. His proper name is nowhere mentioned ; but, he is supposed to have sat in the See of Armagh from a. d. 610, and to have died on the 12th oi September, in the year 623. 5 This saint is thought possibly to have been identical with a St. Terenan, Arch-
bishop 6 of Ireland, as mentioned by John of Tinmouth,' and by Capgrave. 8
This latter saint is said to have heard St. Laurence, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, dispute upon the dissonance regarding the Easter Festival Celebration, and about other Apostolic Institutions. He thus laid hold of the truth, and
afterwards took a great deal of pains, referable to those matters, in reforming his own people. As Laurence was advanced to the See of Canterbury in
611, and died February 3rd, 619, he seems to have been contemporaneous
withthepresentSaint. 9 Atthe12thofSeptember,MacLasreisenteredby
Marianus O'Gorman in his Fdlire. The present holy man is described in
the of 10 at this same date, as Maclaisre, and Martyrology Donegal, Bishop
Abbot of Ard Macha. According to the Annals of the Four Masters," he died in the year 622.
Article IV. —St. Fledh, Virgin, of Tech-Fleidhe, County of
Wicklow. In the " Feilire " x of ^Engus, at the 12th of September, St.
Fled is called the luminous and buoyant. There is a comment in Irish
2
According to tradition, she was daughter to a King of Leinster.
attached.
We are told, that he belonged to Tech Fleidhe, in Ui-Garchon, of Leinster. The district of Hy-Garchon—within which her Church was situated—
belonged to the territory of Forthuatha. This is thought to have represented Ui Mail, in the barony of Upper Talbotstown, and County of Wicklow. 3 Elsewhere, an opinion has been given, that the district of Hy Garchon may
have extended through the barony of Newcastle, in the same county. * In the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, Fled is entered at the -12th of
September. According to the Martyrology of Donegal5 veneration was given at the same day to Fledh, virgin, daughter to the King of Leinster.
Article V. —St. Colman, Bishop of Abhla. The Martyrologies of
Tallagh
1 and of 2 a festival in honour of a Donegal register Colman, Bishop,
s See Harris' Ware, vol. i. "Arch- Article iv. —'See "Transactions of
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. There is evidently a printer's error, in the 2nd of September, as found in that passage.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
script Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar
of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxiii. •
2 Thus translated
"'with Fled,' i. e.
°By Harris.
* The " Vita S. Laurentii," is
•He is said to have visited Ireland, and
with a view of persuading the Scots to
observe the custom of the Universal Church
Stokes
Cressy's
book xiv. , chap, x. , sect, i. , p. 327.
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. Yet St. Terenan might have been confounded with St. Thomian or Toinian Mac Ronan, who succeeded this present Saint as Archbishop of Armagh, in 623.
See notices of St. Ernin, at the 18th of August, in the Eighth Volume of this Work, Art. ii.
5 Edited by Drs.
i. , and n. 5. , pp. 183 to 185.
^ In Dr. O' Donovan's translation of the
"
ancient historical tale of the
Without refusal, without a particle of Dun na n gedh and the Battle of Magh churlishness. " Rath. " The entire difficulty could be got
Erin,
Banquet of
'7 See Challoner's "Britannia and the word co— Bishopbyinsertingtnharba
*'. <? . ,
Sancta," part ii. , pp. 128, 129. representative or successor before the
18
over
for — by substituting bishops Apostles,
According to Sir James Ware, in his names of these Saints. The probability,
Lists of the Bishops of Clogher, taken from the Register of that See.
19 However, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan denies Ware's statement, concerning St. Molaise having been a Bishop over Clogher. He says, that even supposing Laisrean had been bishop there, it cannot be believed, that nine prelates of that see lived between Tigernach, who died a. d. 549, and the pretended
however, is that the anachronism —is an
original blunder of the writer himself. "
pp. 27, 28, n.
2I "
See
See Ussher's Britannicarum Ecclesi- arum Antiquitates, cap. xvii. , p. 474.
22
It is classed E. 4. 2.
23 See vol. v. , p. 224.
24 In Dreves' *' Analecta," vol. xix. , p.
222.
coming
3o8
LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
Society, LL. l). 2?
J.
Bernard, D. D,
Atkinson,
2* under the of editorship
26 and R.
H.
This Hymn28 is probably derived from an Office for the Feast of
St. Molaise, of which a fragment is extant as a marginal note in the 2
Martyrology of Donegal, at the 12th of September. 9
After a life usefully and religiously spent, St. Molaisse was called away to
receive the crown of his labours and virtues, on the 12th day of September. He was buried, in the cemetery, on the Island of Devenish. His stone coffin30 is said to have been found, embedded in the earth, near one of the ruins. The lid, which had been long taken for the shaft of an antique cross, layattheeasternsideofwhatiscalledtheLowerChurch. Tothenorthof the oratory, within a small quadrangular enclosure, which appears to have been the aherla, or Saint's burial-place, was to be seen that very rude stone coffin, now broken into pieces. 3 1 The material is sandstone, and the bottom seems to hav—e been
of three —stones. 32 The lid has been composed separate
33
style, a very correct idea might be formed regarding the date of the
sarcophagus.
The festival of St. Molaisse is kept on the day of his death. For a long
time, it had been religiously observed by those, who dwelt in the vicinity of Lough Erne. During the last century, and in the beginning of the present,
"
25 See the Irish Liber Hymnorum," 29 See ibid. , vol. ii , pp. 220, 221.
carried away a fact greatly to be regretted
as by an examination of its
edited from the MSS. , with Translations,
Notes and Glossary, vol. i. , p. 158. London,
1898, 8vo.
26
Fellow of Trinity College, and Arch- bishop King's Lecturer in Divinity in the University of Dublin.
2? Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Dublin.
28 The following is the text :—
Abbas probatus omnino Benedictus a domino
Cum caritatis fructibus Doctor seclesiasticus
Elect us dei anthleta Fidelis sine macula Gregis pastor subagrinus Humilis supplex submissus Jeiunus largissimus
Kastus cum rectis moribus Lucerna erit in tota Macculasrius Hibernia Nadfraich et sanctus filius Optimus dei filius Probatus sapiens peritus Quern coronavit dominus Kequiescit post obitum Securus in perpetuum Tenebrarum rectoiibus Uictis atque principibus Xristo cum suis omnibus Ymnum canit celestibus Zelus in quo fait missus dei prae particibus.
Oratio.
Per meritum Macculasri summi sacerdotis adiuna nos Christe saluator mundi qui regnas.
30 This stone-coffin measured about six
feet, two inches in length, exteriorly, and in-
teriorly, five feet, six inches, by one foot, ten inches.
31 Mr. Wakeman ascertained, that a stone
bearing an extremely rude effigy, and now used as a headstone in the upper cemetery, was popularly believed to have been the lid of this coffin.
32 One end has been hollowed to meet the contour of the head and shoulders of a very small person ; but altogether, the work
presents a particularly mediaeval look. Of those objects drawings have been furnished by Mr. Wakeman, with the article to which jrilusion has been already made.
33 The bed of St. Molaisi was shown as a small square enclosure of walls, but now broken, at the time of our visit to Devenish, in July, 1869. About eighteen or nineteen years previously, a certain Vandal, named Robert Watkin, »broke this tomb—then perfect— as we were told by the guide. A week afterwards, he shot off his own thumb by an accident, but this was attributed to the Saint's displeasure : he got into prison three several times, proved most unfortunate in all his dealings, and in fine, he emigrated to Ameriea. During the wintei of 1865- 66, three English soldiers, stationed at Enniskillen, and belonging to the 93rd
Regiment, visited the Island. While one of these looked on passively, the others broke St. Molaise's tomb, in two distinct places. Soon afterwards, one of the wreckers named Davis, was drowned in the Lake, with two other soldiers. It was not known, if either or both of his companions had shared his watery grave, after that wanton and base act.
September12! LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS.
309
countless numbers repaired to the Island to practise various devotions on St. Molaise's festival day. The local guide pointed out another object of interest, viz. the exact spot on the North side facing down towards the Lough, where St. Molaise's well flowed, although it was then covered up with stones. Stations were formerly carriecl on near it. There is a tradition, that in the oldentimeDevenishwasconnectedwiththemainlandbyacauseway. A portion of this work appears to remain, and upon it there is a very well defined crannogue, or artificial Island. Except in very dry summers, this islet is covered with water. 3* The exact year of St. Molaisse's death has not been determined. However, the Annals of Boyle place it so early as a. d. 35
some
years, we are told, that he went to Heaven, a. d. 563, according to the Annals of Ulster, and again this record assigns it to 570,37 which other writers adopt. Again, the year 571 is thought to be the latest date that can be noted for his departure. 38 Some authorities name the 13th of April, 571, as the day for his departure. 39 In the " Feilire " of ^Engus, at the 12th of September,4° there is an encomiastic notice of Laisren, called the beautiful, of multitudinous Damh-inis. There is a comment, having an Irish verse attributed to him/1 The published Martyrology of Tallagh42 records a festival, at the 12th of September, in honour of Molaissi Daimhinsi, i. e. MacNatifraich. It is also entered in the Book of Leinster copy. *3 In the Irish poetical Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman,4* which has been edited by Whitley Stokes, D. C. L. ,4* and which contains several Biblical, Continental,
544.
By
authors,
it is referred to
563. 3
completing thirty
34 The foregoing description has been 42 Edited by Rev Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiv. written by W. F. Wakeman, for the " Irish 43 Thus molAr'p true ruopnaich T>&m Chronicle," of May 29th, 1869. This mp.
accomplished artist and antiquary enters upon a more minute and complete descrip-
tion of those antique objects in his elegantly written and illustrated Guide Book,
intituled "Lough Erne, Enniskillen, Belleek, Ballyshannon and Bundoran," &c. First Excursion, pp. 39 to 52.
35 " An— dxliv. K. Molasi Daminsi a
Apostles, monastery belonging
to the
quievit. " Annales Buelliani, in Df. "
Canons Regular of St. Augustine at Knock, close to the town of Louth. The place was otherwise called Cnoc na Sengan or Hill of the Pismires. He composed his Martyrology while Roderick O'Conor was King of Ire- land, whileGelasiusorGillamacLiacwas Archbishop of Armagh, and while Aed hua Caillaidhi was bishop of Oriel, i. e. , the
O'Conor's Rerurh Hibernicarum Scrip- tores," vol. ii. , p. 4.
36 See Dr. O' Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol i. , pp. 202, 203.
37 See the Annals of Ulster.
38 See the " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. vii. , p. 363.
39 See Harris' Ware, vol.
**
of
Counties of and Louth, Armagh
i. ,
Bishops
present
Monaghan, as stated in the Preface. Where-
Clogher," p. 178.
40 See " Transactions of the Royal Irish fore, we may conclude from the dates
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , given in our Annals for their several reigns, part i. , on the Calendar of Oengus, by that Marianus must have written between
Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxiii.
a. d. 1 1 66 and 1174. Colgan thinks about
the year 1 167. See " Acta Sanctorum Hi-
bernise," Januarii i. , p. 5.
4srhe " Felire Hui Gormain," or the
Martyrology of Gorman, edited from a Manuscript in the Royal Library, Brussels,
with a Preface, Translation, Notes and Indices. It has been issued, by the Henry
Bradshaw Society for editing rare Liturgical Texts. Published in London, 1895, 8vo.
It contains a Preface, explanatory of the
41 The following English translation is by
:
Dr. Whitley Stokes " Laisren, i. e. ,
Molaise, son of Natfraech of—Dam-inis on
Lough Erne. Molaise sang :
" Well found was the land we found— Abroad lough (was) its mountain-field,
Acommoncemeteryfor Irishmen, God the Father's own d—omain. "
*
Ibid. , p. exlv.
s After
44 All that is really known of Marianus
O'Gorman — commemorated as an Irish
Saint at July 3rd in the Martyrology of
Donegal—
is derived from the Preface to his Martyrology, and from it we learn, that his Irish name was Mael-Maire hua Gormain, Abbot of Cnoc na n-Apstol, or Hill of the
3io LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
Anglo-Saxon, British and Aremorican Saints, besides the Irish Saints,*6 Lasrian
is commemorated with a eulogy for his meekness,*? in that Irish metre, called
the Rindard mor, or Great Rindard. The Martyrology of Marianus
O'Gorman48 professes to enlarge the number of Irish Saints in the Calendars
of Tallaght and of Oengus, and to arrange the festivals of a great number of
them in those days on which the Church celebrates their festivals. The only
copy of this composition known to exist was that transcribed by Brother
Michael 0'0ery,49 about the year 1630, in the Franciscan Convent of
Donegal. s° We find him mentioned, at still greater length, in the Martyrology
1 atthesame as sonof Abbotof date, Molaissi, Nadfraech,
of
Daimhinis. s2
and holiday of Molaissi, in his own parish, and termon, at Bealach Ui Michein.
5* This exact locality is not easily ascertainable at the present
text, pp. vii. to lii. , by the learned editor, Mariani Gormani et Tamlactense et
Donegal,*
On the 15th day53 of this same month is celebrated the festival
and also, pp. 1 to 411.
46 This Martyrology commemorates two
Saints—Gilla mac Liacc at March 27th,
who died in 1 173, and Gilla mo Chaidbeo
at March 31st, who died in 1174; so that
either the statements in the Preface appear
not to be correct, or the commemorations
just mentioned were added after the conclu-
sion of the poem. They may have been
subsequent emendations by the author him-
self. In 1 181, according to the Annals of
the Four Masters, Maelmuire Hua Dunain, Connor and Dromore. Heretofore, the Abbot of Cnoc na Sengan in Louth, died ; present writer was obliged to take his and Colgan supposes him to have been references to Marianus O'Gorman chiefly identical with Marianus O'Gorman, and from the works of Colgan.
Rev. Dr. Lanigan agrees with him in con- 50 The frontispiece engraving to the jecture. See "'Ecclesiastical History of present volume represents the ruins of that,
Ireland," vol. iv. , chap, xxx. , sect, ii. ,
p. 251.
4? With the other Saints noticed at the
12thof — heisthusextolledinthe September,
convent, as they now stand, near the sea-
shore, adjoining the town of Donegal.
s1 EditedbyRev. Drs. ToddandReeves,
pp. 244,245.
52
in the Table, it is said, that at Daimhinis there was a secular priory of Colidei, belonging to the great church, or cat—hedral
—ch of St. Molash so it of the parish chur
" over the word
Note which makes it the 16th day. " by
Dr. Todd.
54 fratrem Michen, "As brother Juxta
Michen says," is appended to the foregoing account . The following note is written here
:
in the more recent hand " Antiphona
communis. Vir Dei dum veil mm vitje
populo prcedicaret, vfsusesta terra paululum sublimari, et in cere pendere, et mirati sunt universi. Adesto nobis qutesumus Domine,
Irish stanza
In a
comment,
at mention of his name,
"
:
Iuentus soer, Sirius, .
mac Natfraich ro fromad,
Lasrian cain cen chinaid,
Mace Lasre, Fled fuillem, do rindnim coa ragam
Ailbe
Imlig
Ibair. "
53 The
It is thus rendered into English —
15th day,
ceui5e<v6, is written as a gloss, feipoTD,
"
:
Noble Juventius, S*irius ; Natfraech's son, who was proven. Gentle, crimeless Lasrian. Mac Lasre, Fled, an increase. To the starry heaven whither we shall go (belongs) Ailbe of Imlech Ibair. " See pp. 174, 175.
48 It is a paper Manuscript in the ut beati Lasreani confessoris tui atque Bibli—otheque Royale, Brussels, marked ibbatis interventu ab omni inquinatione
bound in vellum with a piece of calf-skin stitched on the back, which is inscribed thus : Martyrologia et
mundemur corporis et per
This is evidently taken from some ancient office for St. Molaisse, who is also called, S. Laserian, or Lastianus. The foregoing remarks are found in a note, inserted by Dr. Todd.
5100 4. It
is mentis Christum. "
Carmina hibernica, and on the left cover is the following note in a seventeenth century hand : Continens Martyrologia S. /Engussij
Genealogias Sanctorum et plura alia Opus- cula. It is a thin 4to, almost wholly in the
handwriting of Michael O'Clery, and it con- tains 214 leaves.
49 However, through a loan of the Belgian Government to the Very Rev. Dr. James
Henthorn Todd, of T. C. D. , a transcript by Eugene O'Curry was made from it. After the death of Dr. Todd, that transcript came into the possession of Right Rev. William Reeves, late Protestant Bishop of Down,
was in old times and a vicarage
of the same church. See ibid. , pp. 452, 453.
September LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12. ]
'
time,amongthemoderntownlanddenominationsinIreland. St. Molaisewas Patron Saint to the O'Flannagan family of Tuath-Ratha, or Toora. ss There is a curious account of the tribes of Dartry in the time of Molaisse. 56 In an Irish PoemS7 introduced into the Rife of St. Molaise, the tributes and contri- butions from the Chiefs and people of Toora are set forth and in full, as also # the spiritual and temporal benefits which they in turn were to receive from him. They are told that if they undertake a just battle, and carry the Gospel of Molaise before them as their standard, they shall be victorious. At the time of the suppression of religious houses, 58 the possessions of Devenish are specified in a particular manner. 59 The veneration of this holy Abbot reached the South of Ireland. The old church in the Parish of Kilmolash,60
"
countyofVVaterford,means thechurchofSt. Molash,"thecelebratedSaint
61
The tourist and antiquary more frequently visit the early scene of
Molaissi's holy retirement, in the present age, than the pilgrim, who cannot find the long-displaced Saint's cell or shrine. But, for all persons of true feeling and taste, an indescribable charm is produced in the soul, and awakened in the recollection of all who resort to the island. The scenery is gloriously grand, and yet softly diversified, around the former home of this holy abbot. As we take a tourist's leave of the place, numberless islands seem to float over the wide surface of that placid lake, with its waters spreading out to the blue outline of mountains and swelling slopes on the distant horizon.
Article III. —St. Mac Lasre or Maclaisre, Archbishop and
Abbot of Armagh, County of Armagh. [Sixth and Seventh Centuries. ']
Although bearing the patronymic, which was tlie same name, and having a festival on the same day, the present must be distinguished from the former
1
saint. At the 12th of September, in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, and of
Marianus O'Gorman,2 we find the entry of Mac Lasre's feast. The name may be interpreted the son of Laisre. He was born sometime in the sixth century. The calendarist of the O'Clerys thinks he descends from the race of Eoghan, son to Niall ; or, it is added, that he may belong to the race of Corbmac Cas, son to Oilioll Olum. Already we have noticed the festival of a St. Maclaisre, Abbot of Bangor, at the 16th of May,3 and whose death is recorded in the Annals of Ulster at a. d. 645 4 but he seems to have been
;
of Devenish in Lough Erne.
55 See " of of Waterford, collected the Pro-
Eugene O'Curry's Catalogues MSS. , in the Royal Irish Academy," series i. , vol. i. , p. 208.
during
gress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841,"
p. 133.
Article hi. —* Edited by Rev. Dr.
56 At p. 80 of his Irish Life. R. I. A.
57 Mr. O'Curry thinks this poem had been Kelly, p. xxxiv. Also distinct from the
written about the middle of the fourteenth
moLar-p of Dam Inis in the Book of
Leinster copy is this entry trUcLarpe.
2 See " Sanctorum Hiberniae," Colgan's
x. Januarii. Vita S. Thomiani, nn. 4, 5,
p. 53.
3 See at that date, in the Fifth Volume
of this work, Art. viii.
century.
58 We are
VIII. 's "first
that
attack was levelled at the smaller institu-
tions or those whose yearly income did not exceed two hundred pounds. "—Butler's
"
and Scottish
told,
Henry
Historical Memoirs of the English, Irish
4 " Ma—c Laisre Abbas Bennchair "
Catholics," 4. , p. 205.
vol.
i. , chap, xvii. , ,
Called in Irish C1II molAife.
Such is the statement of John O'Dono- "
Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni- carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 49. Dr. O'Conor remarks in a note (j) that Molassius of Devenish died 563, and Lasrean of Leighlin died
sec.
59 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
quievit. "
cum," pp. 260, 261.
60 61
van in Letters containing Information 638. They are often confounded by late relative to the Antiquities of the County writers ignorant of Irish history.
311
i2 • LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12. 3 [September
a different person from the present saint. His proper name is nowhere mentioned ; but, he is supposed to have sat in the See of Armagh from a. d. 610, and to have died on the 12th oi September, in the year 623. 5 This saint is thought possibly to have been identical with a St. Terenan, Arch-
bishop 6 of Ireland, as mentioned by John of Tinmouth,' and by Capgrave. 8
This latter saint is said to have heard St. Laurence, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, dispute upon the dissonance regarding the Easter Festival Celebration, and about other Apostolic Institutions. He thus laid hold of the truth, and
afterwards took a great deal of pains, referable to those matters, in reforming his own people. As Laurence was advanced to the See of Canterbury in
611, and died February 3rd, 619, he seems to have been contemporaneous
withthepresentSaint. 9 Atthe12thofSeptember,MacLasreisenteredby
Marianus O'Gorman in his Fdlire. The present holy man is described in
the of 10 at this same date, as Maclaisre, and Martyrology Donegal, Bishop
Abbot of Ard Macha. According to the Annals of the Four Masters," he died in the year 622.
Article IV. —St. Fledh, Virgin, of Tech-Fleidhe, County of
Wicklow. In the " Feilire " x of ^Engus, at the 12th of September, St.
Fled is called the luminous and buoyant. There is a comment in Irish
2
According to tradition, she was daughter to a King of Leinster.
attached.
We are told, that he belonged to Tech Fleidhe, in Ui-Garchon, of Leinster. The district of Hy-Garchon—within which her Church was situated—
belonged to the territory of Forthuatha. This is thought to have represented Ui Mail, in the barony of Upper Talbotstown, and County of Wicklow. 3 Elsewhere, an opinion has been given, that the district of Hy Garchon may
have extended through the barony of Newcastle, in the same county. * In the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, Fled is entered at the -12th of
September. According to the Martyrology of Donegal5 veneration was given at the same day to Fledh, virgin, daughter to the King of Leinster.
Article V. —St. Colman, Bishop of Abhla. The Martyrologies of
Tallagh
1 and of 2 a festival in honour of a Donegal register Colman, Bishop,
s See Harris' Ware, vol. i. "Arch- Article iv. —'See "Transactions of
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. There is evidently a printer's error, in the 2nd of September, as found in that passage.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
script Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar
of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxiii. •
2 Thus translated
"'with Fled,' i. e.
°By Harris.
* The " Vita S. Laurentii," is
•He is said to have visited Ireland, and
with a view of persuading the Scots to
observe the custom of the Universal Church
Stokes
Cressy's
book xiv. , chap, x. , sect, i. , p. 327.
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. Yet St. Terenan might have been confounded with St. Thomian or Toinian Mac Ronan, who succeeded this present Saint as Archbishop of Armagh, in 623.
See notices of St. Ernin, at the 18th of August, in the Eighth Volume of this Work, Art. ii.
5 Edited by Drs.
